Chapter 34
Ossan, has an encounter
Light barely illuminates the darkened room . Zeros, who could have used magic in place of the few candles set alight to illuminate it while he was working, now gazes absentmindedly outside the window .
A dim light seemed to flicker about in the forest, however, it gradually disappears under the curtain of the night .
“Ah… It’s about to be morning already . ”
Although he has spent a long time pouring his all into the magic integration process, it was still incomplete but functional for the most part .
What was left to do was to polish off the fine details by means of repeated trial and error . The problem was, however, the magic that was currently being constructed was something that probably not many people would be able to use .
For instance, the dual-layer deployment magic barrier while maintaining its shape at a range, and the great terrain manipulation and hardening magic, when all those processes are stacked on top of each other at the same time, the mana consumption greatly increases .
Even if external mana is used, if the user only concentrates on gathering and solidifying the riverbed’s sediment, their strength wouldn’t be enough to simultaneously control the shape of the barriers and the piers .
Furthermore, doing so in a river with such a violent stream will make the pressure from the water current increase the mana consumption of the barrier, and in addition to the rocks and pebbles coming down the river, it will make it difficult to deploy it for a long time . And while it would be ideal to just let them pass through the barrier, it would make it impossible to maintain it .
“Whatever… We’ll just have to wait and see . ”
That is the conclusion he arrived at . But, whatever the case may be, with the current situation he had in his hands, it was a bad time to be experimenting .
“Huh? Ya wanna try out the spell upstream?”
“Yes, the functionality is all there for the most part, but the question is whether it can be used in practice or not . ”
After sleeping for three hours, Zeros came to ask Naguri for permission to test the newly completed spell .
In the construction industry, there has always been a certain level of tolerance towards small delays in the completion of the projects due to the difficulty of the work itself, which was acceptable under certain situations, however, he wanted to start with the construction work as soon as possible .
Nonetheless, the vital magic for said process was still incomplete .
“Well, I’m the one who gave ya only three days to finish it, but is it done already?”
“It’s still unfinished, and I don’t think it can be used in the actual site . I don’t even know how much mana it’s going to consume . ”
This is his pride as a former programmer .
Misspelling even a single character in the process could end up affecting the program as a whole . That’s why they had a number of debuggers working full-time at his workplace, to find and fix these mistakes .
He often was sent as the person in charge of giving business presentations abroad day in and day out, which often led to delays in his work’s deadlines and having to pull constant all-nighters, causing him to quarrel with his boss many times over .
Magic is also a kind of program, a small mistake could end up affecting the performance of the whole spell . And, although it wasn’t to the extent of machine languages, spells constructed with complex magic formulas had to be tested at least once to confirm their functionality .
“Yeah, but why upstream?”
“If we put up piers’ supports upstream, it will cause the current to become more gentle, which will make the construction work unbelievably easier, don’t you think?”
“Ahh, I see now, it’d make it harder to die if someone ends up falling into the river . ”
“That’s why I’m telling you now, don’t push off anyone into the river, alright?”
“Of course I ain’t doing something like that… I’ll just tie him up with a rope and let him fall on his own, ya know?”
Naguri had yet to forget his grudge over food . He is a dwarf that seemed to be obsessive about the things he liked .
“Well, forget ‘bout that, are ya okay with going upstream by yourself?”
“I’m sure I can manage . It’s not like I’m going somewhere far away . ”
“Well, it’ll be fine if ya say so . Come back early, alright?”
“I’m just trying this magic for a little while, it won’t take long… Well then, I’ll be going now . ”
“Ou, be careful . ”
Zeros heads upstream with a slightly tired look on his face . The pressure on him was high considering that the outcome of this project will decide the fate of the dwarven craftsmen .
And such, gloomily, he made his way upstream of the river .
Going upstream, the river’s flow was constant . It was still a raging stream, and it was hard to imagine that it would turn gentle just by stirring it up a little .
“This is…… Should I make multiple piers?”
Zeros activates the compound spell’s magic formula . With a bright flash, a barrier is created inside the rapids, forcefully expanding into the surroundings .
At the same time, a rock pillar started to rise from the riverbed, squirming like a living creature, and gradually taking the shape of the predetermined structure inside the dual-layered shield .
Its appearance is that of a sharp, elliptical column that extended upwards from the riverbed . The unevenness in its side creates a convection phenomenon, which stirs and helps calm the river’s flow .
Nevertheless, if the magic were to suddenly cut off in that instant, the pillar would immediately collapse and disintegrate into the river .
—
As the spell 〖Rock Forming〗 is applied to it, the sediment and rocks are condensed and transformed into a single stone pillar .
Magic, even if it’s transformed into a tangible physical phenomenon, it has the property of immediately starting to scatter, transforming into its original state of being, that is to say, mana . Be that as it may, because of the pressure caused by the solidification of the rocks and sediment, heat was produced, causing the materials to bind together .
(*T . N: yeah, apparently when adding pressure and compressing and object into something with a smaller volume, its temperature rises but the amount of heat is technically the same . I googled it because I thought the author was tripping on smt)
These types of secondary physical phenomena are not directly produced by magic, so even if the mana is dissipated, they are still within the framework of the laws of physics, and therefore, do not disappear .
The problem was…
“The mana consumption is too high!”
…That .
The amount of mana required for the simultaneous usage of three different spells plus the magic formula activation far exceeded Zeros’ expectations .
Since his level was over 1800, the amount of mana he possessed was extraordinary . But, the humans of this world should have an average level of around 100, with 300 being the highest level they reached . Because of that, their average mana capacity was around 250MP .
(*T . N: It doesn’t say in the RAWs, but I assume it’s 250 MP and not level 250)
“This magic… At his level, Creston-san might be barely able to use it three times at most . There’s no way other magicians could use it . ”
The former head of the Ducal House of Solisthea, the ‘magician of the purgatory’, whose level is 303 . The main reason why this magician would only be able to use this spell only three times lies behind the barrier magic used to make the formworks of the bridge’s foundations .
Its shape can be transformed at will, but the trade-off of that freedom is the high mana consumption . Not to mention that Creston has not undergone the physical abilities transformation that occurs under certain conditions such as ‘limit breakthrough’, ‘critical breakthrough’, and ‘extreme breakthrough . ’
(*T . N: all 3 terms can be read as ‘limit breakthrough’ tho)
This is a phenomenon in which, when one reaches a certain stage of physical and mental development, all of one’s abilities rapidly increase . The level is involved in this process, though it also includes the skills’ levels .
‘Breakthrough’ can be defined as bringing one’s level and skills’ levels to their maximum values, and overcoming them . Also, the more skills a person has maxed out, the more likely they are to break through their limits .
Although in actuality it required a great amount of time and effort to reach that point, it was possible if one continued to defeat powerful monsters, regardless .
However, at the present time, such tricks-of-the-trade had all been lost and forgotten in this world . The devastation caused during the Evil God War period, and the countries’ subsequent seclusion inside their own safe spaces due to political reasons, has been the main reason as to why humans were currently unable to reach a high level .
Because people stopped grinding exp inside danger zones, their levels eventually ended up stagnating, and so has the technological level, leading humans to be a weaker race compared to the past .
Well, though it had nothing to do with this middle-aged uncle .
“I’ll try to practice a couple more times before I have to do the real thing… Naguri-san might actually send me flying if I fail……”
And so, Zeros began to practice diligently .
It was bad manners to talk with a cigarette in one’s mouth though…
—
A number of rock pillars are being built upstream of the Auras Grand River . Its raging streams were stirred up with the construction of such columns and visibly changed into a slower one .
There was another country upstream, which had invaded through the Auras Grand River some hundred years ago . But, Zeros, who didn’t know the historical background of this river, is just getting carried away in his work .
“It will be problematic if it ends up wearing out due to the river’s flow, so let’s put a little bit of effort here, shall we?”
He engraves a complicated magic formula, along with a magic stone, onto the pillar to absorb the mana from the surroundings . In short, the pillar protruding from the riverbed had become a magic tool .
He began to do the same with the rest of the pillars, which all ended up transforming into mysterious-looking towers with strange geometrical formations on their surfaces .
By using the surroundings’ mana, they would be able to deploy a strong, albeit time-limited, barrier that wouldn’t be broken easily .
As he began to feel they were dull-looking, for fun he started to give different forms to the rock pillars, turning them into sculptures of things like griffons and other living creatures . And, once he commenced messing around like that, he couldn’t stop and began to make even more elaborated things .
Mainly things like a super-dimensional battleship, an anthropomorphized, human-sized mobile weapon from somewhere, along with divas, magical angels, and so on . Though the ‘Valkyrie’ he made didn’t look like a war maiden at all .
He was just getting into the groove when he felt something odd .
“A monster? No, this is…”
As he spotted and stared at a shadow moving on the opposite shore of the river, his gaze meets with the creature’s, whose entire body was covered in bristles .
Its mouth closely resembled a dog’s, with long fangs sprouting forth, and dripping saliva as if it were completely starving . In addition, it also had four arms with razor-sharp claws, and its torso looked similar to a person’s .
When the beast spotted Zeros, it quickly came approaching while jumping up and down the pillars at a high speed . And then, it swung its sharp claws towards him .
Although the beast’s appearance reflecting in his eyes sent shivers down his spine, he quickly leaps backward to avoid its onslaught . Human faces had emerged from all over its body, having even children’s faces on it . They groan as if they resented Zeros .
A primeval fear takes hold of him .
“W-What the hell is this monster!?”
However, the monster relentlessly chases after him . It swings one of its left arms, sending a punch towards his trunk, to which Zeros avoids it by bending his body backward, yet, its other left arm came next in an instant to hunt him down .
He draws the sword at his waist and swings it towards the beast’s arm, intercepting its offense .
Nevertheless, as it didn’t feel any pain, it swings again its injured arm from a backhand chop position in order to mow down its opponent . Once more, he cleanly cuts its arm with his sword, but at that moment, the monster was already charging towards Zeros and blew him away with a tackle .
“Gah!”
He stopped breathing for a moment as he was slammed against one of the trees growing in the forest . Zeros had extraordinary physical abilities, but the monster had attacked him at a speed that even he couldn’t react to .
“How clumsy…”
Aiming to counter the monster’s thoughtless charges, he deploys the 【Silver God’s Wall】 . Countless thorn-shaped barriers spring forth impaling the monster . But despite that, its momentum doesn’t stop, as it continues to charge while extending its right arm as if to catch Zeros .
“〖Air Burst〗”
He shoots the wind element magic 〖Air Burst〗 at point-blank range, blowing the monster away in the complete opposite direction with the power generated by the spell .
Losing one’s posture and stopping for even a single moment can become a fatal mistake .
As it appeared that the monster had already gotten up and was about to charge again, Zeros deployed a barrier while getting into a defensive position… However, the monster didn’t come .
What it was doing was eating the two left arms that had been chopped off . Moreover, new flesh began to grow, writhing from the lost arms, regenerating in the blink of an eye .
Standing behind the 【Silver God’s Wall】, he watches the wounds closing up, but more than that, it was the incessant saliva trickling down its maw what spoke more about this monster’s condition .
Extreme hunger .
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In addition, more limbs started to grow from all over its body, changing its appearance into something astonishingly bizarre . Perhaps due to its rampage, looking at such a repulsive sight made him feel nauseous .
The monster was also beginning to grow part of the upper body of a couple of people . It was an incredibly eerie and intimidating scene . But, it was also an opportunity .
“〖Chain Bind〗”
As a magic circle suddenly emerges beneath the monster, countless chains spring forth and restraining it . The monster that had its movements sealed, went into a rampage, but just before it could break free, Zeros made his next move .
“〖Prominence Flame〗”
A dazzling, incandescent fireball envelops the monster . If it had regenerative abilities, he judged that he should burn it down at a temperature higher than the speed it regenerated at . That’s why he used the flame-type incineration magic 〖Prominence Flame〗 .
In the past, it was regarded as a forbidden spell, however, it’s a magic that was lost in the present age . Although it was a straightforward attack magic, it had enough heat to thoroughly burn the enemy into nothingness leaving not even a trace .
The half plasmfied monster is once again hit by the same magic, turning into cinders without having any time to regenerate . But, even if the monster had perished, all the things shredded apart during their battle were certainly still there . It was a dreadful sight .
Even though it was only for a moment, the monster had overwhelmed Zeros, showing him that there were indeed beings that could kill him . He was saved because of the creature’s bad eating habits, but he didn’t know what would have happened if they fought toe to toe . He was terrified, as it was the first time he felt his life being in such danger .
“It seems like I underestimated this otherworld, didn’t I? Seriously, what’s with that monster… Its regeneration ability was abnormal…”
He mumbles dazedly while gazing at the ground vitrified by the heat produced by his magic .
(*T . N: if the battle scene seemed a bit confusing to follow, it’s because it is . It’s not like it was incomprehensible or anything, but the author didn’t put much in the form of the ‘hows’, ‘wheres’ and ‘whens’ of each action, so I pretty much had to guess what exactly was happening, so yes, it was confusing . )
The 【Regeneration Ability】that the monster possessed was a useful skill but produced an abnormal level of hunger as a side effect, and so, the 【Berserk】 skill was often attached to it .
Because regenerating limbs forcefully induces cellular division at a high rate, it requires a large amount of nutrients, and so it makes the host rampage around attacking all living creatures to compensate for the lack of them . In addition, despite not feeling pain, this monster assimilated all that it ate into its own body and starved instead of exerting its full physical abilities . It was in a constant state of nutritional deficiency .
The improvement of physical performance seemed to accelerate calorie consumption at the same time, so the monster would have had to work excessively hard only to be constantly regenerating its muscles in order to maintain its normal activity .
(*T . N: activity as in functioning normally . )
It took its prey’s abilities after consuming them and continued to regenerate to reduce the aforementioned burden on its body, starving more and more every time its physical abilities were improved .
【Regeneration Ability】 was a skill mainly possessed by Orcs and Ogres, but the monster Zeros defeated wasn’t either of them . And, above all, he had never heard of a monster with human faces attached to its body .
(No way… Did it eat humans? In that case, it would’ve continued to attack people endlessly…)
Cold sweat runs down his spine .
“W-What the fuck is thiiiiisss!!”
“!?”
Startled by the scream, he turns around only to find Naguri and a few of the dwarves standing there .
“Oh, if it isn’t Naguri-san . Did something happen?”
“You’re damn right something happened . You didn’t return after lunchtime, so we came lookin’ for ya… but what the hell is with those pillars?”
“You mean the prototype piers? I just decorated them a little because they would’ve ended up looking tasteless if I left them the way they were . ”
“How’s this just a little…? Weren’t ya just playin’ around?”
“I wasn’t playing around, though . But, I apologize for causing you so much concern…”
“Well, we just wanted to know if ya were fine . But this… these are pretty creative pieces . ain’t it?”
He was indeed playing around as much as he liked .
These pillars and sculptures engraved with magic characters were completely novel to the dwarves . They might look uncouth and rough in appearance, but in fact, they had a deep knowledge of art .
They stare at the pillars with serious eyes .
“The sculptures themselves are so-so, but the motif just doesn’t suit all of them . ”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing from a different point of view? There’s an imperfect beauty in the New . ”
“They look a little unpolished, but not bad . I wish the pillars were a little thinner, though…”
“That wouldn’t be enough to withstand the river’s current . Why not make the sculptures smaller and symmetrical instead?”
“Yeah, it’s a shame you can only see the sculptures upstream, and only see their backs downstream…”
He was evaluated in various ways for some reason .
“Would you create one more sculpture? This time, make it symmetrical from the front and back . Around half the size is fine . ”
“Eeh… Right now…?”
“Naturally . We won’t allow half-assed pieces to be in front of us…”
“It consumes a lot of mana though…”
“Squeeze it out . ”
Naguri says something unreasonable . However, it was the same for the rest of the dwarves, their eyes were sparkling with a strange glint .
They were completely serious .
“How many pillars do you guys think there are? Aren’t these enough?”
“There are 45 pillars . Well, you’ll be fine as long as you go all out with the resolution to die, right?”
“You can’t recover mana with willpower, you know!?”
“““Yer fine! Just do it! We’ll bury ya at the bottom of the river since yer that tired!”””
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His consent didn’t matter .
Because of their own nature as craftsmen, they couldn’t tolerate any half-hearted things done in their presence, forcing the person to make changes as they pleased .
They couldn’t tolerate the amateurish sculpture of Zeros, who was just playing around, thoroughly inspecting every detail of them . There was no escape . The word ‘compromise’ didn’t exist in the dwarven lexicon .
In the end, Zeros was made to create new sculptures while being supervised by dwarves with scary eyes .
The work was only finished by nightfall, all the while being shouted at by the insistent dwarves . By the time he returned to the temporary lodgings, Zeros had exhausted his mana and was covered in wounds .
It was the first time since coming to this world that he had run out of mana and collapsed .
Not only his mana had been exhausted, but also his heart .
(*T . N: the verb used, 切れる[kireru] can mean both running out of something/being exhausted, and breaking or cutting something in half, so that’s the pun but it’s kinda lost in translation . )
Three men are walking through the forest in the middle of the night . One of them had been waiting at the bank at the opposite shore of the river for his comrades, while they crossed over the river using a rope . Despite its turbulent stream, the two managed to reach the other side with their comrade’s help .
“You’ve been silent for a while now, but how did the experiment turn out?”
“… It was the worst . That thing could’ve put us all in danger if we had made a single mistake . ”
“…That bad?”
“No way it can be described with such that! It’s a person turned into a monster!”
They were observing the effects it would have the amulet the magician gave to those mercenaries . However, what they saw exceeded all of their initial expectations .
The two saw human beings transforming into aberrant monstrosities . Something that was vastly different from what they thought it would be .
“We used the ‘holy water’ to escape, but they instantly devoured the monsters that were lured by it . ”
“That thing, far from being useful, it only creates new enemies, you know?”
“But, no matter how much we shout at them, what the top brass decides it’s another story altogether . ”
“Yeah… how foolish . This is something they shouldn’t mess with . ”
They continue to walk in silence . There were no signs of monsters in the vicinities, and only the sound of the river’s raging streams echoed .
They couldn’t let their guards down, however, as Goblins and Orcs were frequently sighted around this area . Though if there are only a couple, they could probably defeat them with leisure .
As they proceeded with caution, they discovered something out of place under the cliff .
There were pillars protruding from the riverbed and lining up on the opposite side of the river . Beautiful sculptures adorned their upper sections, and the men could only gasp in admiration at their exquisite workmanship . Their thinking, too, immediately stopped .
“What… What in the world is this!!”
“With this… they’ve done it now . It seems like this is not going to be a surprise attack anymore . ”
“Has the Solisthea Magic Kingdom already seized our movements? So they’re not going to make the same mistakes it seems… How annoying . ”
Their country had once performed a surprise attack and invaded the fortress of Santhor by sailing downstream from this river .
It was now a city, however, in the past, they fought a fierce battle at the once known as the impregnable fortress of Santhor, but retreated after suffering a humiliating defeat at their hands .
At that time, the country known as Solisthea hadn’t been born, but still, the disgrace suffered on that occasion had been passed down in the royal family generation after generation, waiting for an opportunity to enact their revenge .
Naturally, they have been making war preparations, but in the end, there was a high probability of their ships being blocked by the pillars that had been erected and being run aground in case of a surprise attack on them .
The whole area was surrounded by cliffs . It was certain that they would become easy targets if they were attacked with magic from there . It had become a place of certain death .
“This… This is something we can’t afford to not report . ”
“Umu . Those guys are waiting for us to come, after all . ”
“Oi . What are these marks?”
What attracted the attention of one of the men was the ground vitrified by Zeros’ magic . There, he found something .
“Oi . How many subjects were there?”
“Four people, why? Did something happen?”
“Take a look at this… one of them was apparently killed here . ”
A dull-colored black stone was fused with the melted ground . And it was something they were quite familiar with .
“Absurd! Someone defeated one of those monsters!?”
“That can’t be… They instantly killed and devoured an entire group of monsters!”
“… But the proof is right here . ”
They looked at the black stone with pale faces .
“Something like this had to be caused by fire magic… and a terrifyingly powerful one at that . ”
“Did a magician defeat that…?”
“That’s impossible . Very few knights could’ve defeated one, much less a magician…”
“But this was clearly a magic attack, it must’ve been a powerful magician . ”
“Fire magic… maybe it was the ‘Magician of the Purgatory’?”
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There is a limited number of skillful flame-wielding magicians, and when it comes to magicians capable of going this far, only him came to mind .
“One of the four magicians*, isn’t it? Did they take him out of retirement or something? If they went that far, I wonder if there will be something left to protect at this point…”
(*T . N: it literally said one person of the four magicians . I think the author meant one person from the four great magician noble families that were handed down special magics, that was mentioned earlier in the novel . )
“Who knows . But, we have to investigate this . ”
“Let’s go . In case…”
“Even if only one of us makes it in the end . But, someone has to return and report this . ”
The men resolve themselves and nod to each other .
—
As they continued walking through the forest, they eventually reached an open area . Hiding in the bushes and observing the surroundings, they saw what seemed to be roads under construction .
However, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this region was an unexplored frontier area, thus there was absolutely no point in building roads here .
“A highway…? Why do such a pointless thing?”
“Isn’t Santhor downstream? It’s faster going by ship than by land…”
“Hold on… Beyond this point is the Auras Grand River, no way…”
They appreciated the existence of a road, but this was a remote frontier region . There was no town or other important point of transit, and bandits would probably be the only ones that would profit from its construction .
But as they were moving alongside the river, they finally understood its meaning after a while . They were trying to build a bridge .
“There’s no doubt about it . They’re planning on going to war with our country . ”
“I don’t understand what’s the point of building a bridge here, though . Isn’t it a waste of money…?”
“Don’t you get it? If a bridge were to be built in this place, our army would suffer a crushing blow . ”
Their country was a small nation located upstream of the river, but in order to attack the Solisthea Magic Kingdom, they would have to pass through two other countries . Therefore, the only suitable plan of action was to send troops down the Auras Grand River, but the presence of these multiple pillars and the construction of a bridge was a serious threat to it .
These rock columns erected upstream blocked their way, and due to the violent current of the river, their ships would certainly end up stranded after running aground, as it was impossible to control their speed . In addition, with the whole area being surrounded by cliffs, it was entirely possible to be attacked from above with absolute freedom .
Even if they could pass through the pillars, they would still be attacked from above the bridge and the surrounding cliffs . In other words, the topography of the land itself, so to speak, has become a natural fortress .
The invasion by ship plan has transformed into a suicide charge tactic .
“Why did such a thing have to happen now… We’ve been hit before we even made the first move, and now that…”
“Our country probably won’t be able to regain its former glory . Moreover, those pillars will slow down the speed of the current and might make it possible for ships to start navigating around this area . It seems like they have quite the tactician on their side…”
It was only a coincidence, however .
“We should hold off the invasion of Solisthea for the time being… We should focus on absorbing the nearby countries first…”
“But, having a two-pronged strategy will make us remain at a standstill with them . ”
“There might be no other way . Who would’ve thought that such a thing would’ve been placed in a river with such raging streams . ”
“The man who devised that stratagem must be an incredibly smart person…”
Which is only a misunderstanding .
Unaware that the whole thing was merely a coincidence, they had no choice but to draw a conclusion from only what they were seeing with their own eyes . And as their subjectivity played a great part in their judgment of the situation, they ended up coming to that conclusion .
Primarily, this road was built under the pretense of being a ‘highway for the people who couldn’t afford traveling by ship, so they were forced to travel by land . ’ But, with no towns around, merchants are more likely to be attacked by bandits . Moreover, being close to Far-flung forest makes it vulnerable to monster attacks’ threats .
However, to them, who were in the mindset of planning an invasion of an enemy nation, it couldn’t look like anything else but developing a frontier region for the sake of war .
It seemed that the earliness with which Solisthea acted prevented them from pondering the situation from another point of view . It was a good example of how two different points of view can lead to two completely different conclusions .
—
“To only have mercenaries as escorts, why is that?”
“Perhaps they don’t mind us seeing them as they know we can’t do anything about it . ”
“To have read our thoughts so easily… unlike the rumors, it seems to be quite a frightening country…”
They were dispatched to the Solisthea Magic Kingdom to ascertain the veracity of their investigation of its domestic affairs and the effectiveness of their experiments . The initial investigation revealed the existence of a rupture between the Chivalric Order and the Magicians[*T . N: as in the faction of magicians with political power], and they saw it as an opportunity to attack .
The reality, however, was different, and it seemed Solisthea had made the first move, restraining their own nation’s . And, because of it, they assumed that the rumors of there being an internal division in the country had been deliberately circulated to snuff out the rats that had been plaguing it .
Furthermore, the fact that they’ve been openly exposing their key military bases makes their misunderstanding even more credible .
Though it was all a coincidence . But there was no way they could have known that .
“Let’s go . We have to do anything to get this intel back home…”
“Yeah… If we keep being indecisive more harm will come to befall our country . ”
“There’s a terrifying tactician in this country, he probably already planned how to destroy his enemies and bring prosperity to his country…”
The men were frightened by the nonexistent tactician . They are warriors who are willing to die for their nation, but they didn’t want their people to be unilaterally annihilated .
And so, they reorganized the information they obtained and ran under the cover of the night .
With their country’s prosperity in their hearts……